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Commission decides to refer ITALY to the Court of Justice of the European Union for not fully transposing EU rules on tolls and user charges for road infrastructure use
Today, the European Commission decided to refer Italy to the Court of Justice of the European Union for failing to transpose EU rules on the charging of vehicles for the use of certain infrastructures (Directive (EU) 2022/362). Italy did not communicate the transposition measures within the required timeframe. The deadline for transposition was 25 March 2024.
Despite the Commission's letter of formal notice of 23 May 2024 and reasoned opinion of 16 December 2024, the Italian authorities have not notified the Commission of the Directive's full transposition. While Italy has notified two transposition measures relating to certain points of the Directive and presented a calendar for the adoption of the remaining measures, no further transposition measures have been notified to date.
The Commission considers that the efforts to take necessary measures by the Italian authorities have, to date, been insufficient and is therefore referring Italy to the Court of Justice of the European Union, requesting to impose financial sanctions.
Background
The Directive on road charging (Directive 1999/62/EC) sets EU rules for distance-based tolls and time-based vignettes. While Member States are not obliged to recover road costs, if they do, charges must respect EU principles: user pays (users cover infrastructure costs) and polluter pays (polluters cover external costs such as CO₂, air and noise pollution, and congestion). The Directive also reinforces EU non-discrimination rules under Article 18 TFEU.
The amending Directive (Directive (EU) 2022/362) broadens the scope to cars, vans, buses, coaches and small lorries, with exemptions ending by 2027. It phases out time-based charges for heavy vehicles, introduces CO₂-based tariffs, and requires recovery of air-pollution costs from 2026. Zero-emission trucks can be exempted or receive greatly reduced rates. A new congestion charge marks a major step towards fairer and greener road pricing across the EU.
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